02/20/2014

Jason Collins is one of several free-agents being considered by the Brooklyn Nets, the NYT reports:

The Nets have two open roster spots, and General Manager Billy King said on Thursday, hours after the trade deadline, that the team would look to sign a free agent to buttress its frontcourt rotation. King said Collins was an obvious candidate but emphasized that discussions about several possibilities, including players in the Development League and ones based abroad, would continue over the coming days.

“We’re looking at any guys that are big, and he’s one of the guys,” King said of Collins. “But we’ve got other guys we’re going to look at."

King said consideration of Collins was purely on his abilities and not because he'd be the first gay active player in the NBA:

“It’s not about marketing or anything like that,” King said. “If we’re bringing somebody in, it’s because we feel like they can help our basketball team.”

Opponents raised scenarios in which gay people in Arizona could be denied service at a restaurant or refused medical treatment if a business owner thought homosexuality was not in accordance with his religion. One lawmaker held up a sign that read "NO GAYS ALLOWED" in arguing what could happen if the law took effect, drawing a rebuke for violating House rules.

The bill is backed by the Center for Arizona Policy, a social conservative group that opposes abortion and gay marriage. The group says the proposal is needed to protect against increasingly activist federal courts and simply clarifies existing state law.

"We see a growing hostility toward religion," said Josh Kredit, legal counsel for the group.

All but three Republicans in the House backed the bill Thursday evening. The Senate passed the bill a day earlier on a straight party-line vote of 17-13.

The bill is similar to legislation pending in Ohio, Mississippi, Idaho, South Dakota, Tennessee and Oklahoma. It now heads to Governor Jan Brewer for signature.

Are you into beards? Do guys with facial hair get you going? Then you're in luck, because now you can even type to your bearded-heart's content with a new font based entirely on one man's mustachioed look.

The brainchild of New York City-based designer Michael Allen, the Alphabeard has seen him carefully sculpt every character from his own facial hair. Bold and medium versions of the font were created at different stages of growth. Admittedly, not all the characters are super clear but, c'mon, it was carved out of hair.